The present invention relates to improvements in an alarm signaling time indicating mechanism capable of digital indication of an alarm signaling time for an alarm clock capable of analog time indication.
Generally, in an analog alarm clock which indicates time with indication hands, it has been usual to indicate an alarm signaling time by an analog indication. Since such a conventional analog alarm clock has a single alarm signaling time indicating hand, it has been difficult to set an alarm signaling time correctly to the minute scale.
To overcome such a disadvantage of a conventional analog alarm clock, analog alarm clocks capable of displaying an alarm signaling time by digital indication have been proposed. An alarm clock of the present invention capable of displaying an alarm signaling time by an digital indication and having features as mentioned earlier consists of two elements, namely, a clock movement comprising a motor, an hour detection wheel and a minute detection wheel which are associated respectively with an hour time wheel and a minute time wheel which are driven by the motor and other necessary components, and a block comprising a minute indication drum and an hour indication drum which are provided to display an alarm signaling time by a digital indication and transmission wheels interlocking the minute indication drum and both of the detection wheels, and featured by disposing the block beside the clock movement and attaching the same to the clock movement. According to the present invention, the clock movement and the block are capable of being assembled individually and interconnected thereafter. Thus the clock assembling operations are facilitated and an alarm signaling time can be displayed with large characters as the alarm signaling time is indicated on the drums.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, the center shaft of the transmission wheel included in the block and the center shaft of the second transmission wheel included in the clock movement are interconnected by splines, the spline joint is axially movable toward the block, and a guide means capable of varying the block attaching position is formed in the attaching part of the block, which enables the appropriate adjustment of the interval between the block and the center of the time indication hands according to the size of the frame of the alarm clock by appropriately and selectively deciding the block attaching position, and thereby the freedom of the design of the alarm clock is enhanced. Still further, according to the present invention, supporting the means for supporting alarm signaling time indicating wheels are formed in addition to the block attaching part in the case of the clock movement, and hence an alarm signaling time indicating unit can optionally and selectively be disposed in the exterior or in the interior of the clock movement.